Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Parasitology 1735-7020 3 3 2008 09 15 1 10 A Moshfe Dept. of Medical Parasitology & Mycology, School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Res M Mohebali Dept. of Medical Parasitology & Mycology, School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Res GhH Edrissian Dept. of Medical Parasitology & Mycology, School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Res Z Zarei Meshkin-Shahr Research Station, Meshkin-Shahr, Ardabil, Iran B Akhoundi Dept. of Medical Parasitology & Mycology, School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Res B Kazemi Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, M.C., Tehran, Iran Sh Jamshidi Dept. of Internal Medicine of Small Animals, Veterinary hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Te M Mahmoodi Dept. of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Rese 2015 10 03 Background: This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis in Meshkin-Shahr district as endemic areas of human visceral leishmaniasis (HVL) for presenting control program of HVL to health authorities.  Methods: A seroepidemiological study to determine seroprevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) among owner­ship dogs using direct agglutination tests (DAT) in 21 villages of Meshkin-Shahr district, Ardabil Province was carried out from June 2006 to August 2007. Three hundred and eighty four ownership dogs were selected by multi-stage cluster sam­pling. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to compare seroprevalence values relative to gender, age and clinical signs. Results: Of the 384 serum samples tested by DAT, 17.4 %( 95%C.I, 13.2%-20.8%) were positive (1:320 and higher). No statistical significant difference was found between male (16.5%) and female (20.2%) seroprevalence (P=0.416). The high­est seroprevalence rate (64.2%) was observed among the ownership dogs of three years age and above. Only 25.4% of the seropositive dogs had clinical signs and symptoms. The most clinical signs among symptomatic dogs were cachexia (75%) and alopecia (36.5%). Conclusion: The majority of seropositive dogs (74.6%) lived in endemic areas of Meshkin-Shahr district were asympto­matic. It seems that all symptomatic and asymptomatic infected dogs are the most important risk factors for human infec­tion in VL endemic areas. https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/64 https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/download/64/63